The present invention relates to an electro-optical, time-indicating system which indicates the time in the fashion of a clock using dial hands, wherein the electrodes of the display, preferably a liquid crystal display, are formed by radially spaced electrode tracks and the backing electrodes are subdivided into inner and outer electrodes, and wherein the drive of the electrode tracks is accomplished by time division multiplexing to indicate hours, minutes and seconds.
Electro-optical time-indicating systems of this type have an advantage in that the type of display offered by these systems is easily read and is accomplished without the use of mechanically moving pointers. A time-indicating system of the type defined above is disclosed in published German Patent Application No. 2,451,057, wherein 60 radial electrode tracks of a liquid crystal display are circumferentially distributed over a dial. Inner track sections are used to indicate the hour, and outer sections are used to indicate the second. Minutes are shown jointly by both sections. The electrodes of each of the tracks are provided with separate, individual terminals. Two concentric backing electrodes are used, with the inner electrode assigned to the inner sections of the tracks and the outer electrode to the outer track sections. A total of 62 electrode terminals are therefore required. Such a great number of electrode terminals is not desirable, because of the great amount of space required by such an arrangement, and because of the great number of components and high cost involved.
Published German Patent Application No. 2,410,527 discloses a time-indicating system which requires a lesser number of electrode terminals. The reduction in the number of electrode terminals attained by this system is partially due to the fact that the seconds are not shown by the simulation of a pointer but by the blinking of one spot. Furthermore, the number of tracks used for the hour display is limited (e.g., 12), so that the display does not move prior to the arrival of the next hour. Finally, the minute display does not simulate a minute hand. Therefore, the indication of time displayed by this system differs from the indication used by a clock with dial hands.